Tools of the trade: The feller-buncher

What it does: The feller-buncher, or cutter, changed the way loggers do their job when it was introduced in the late 1960s. A single operator sitting atop a high-powered machine can cut one small-diameter tree in five seconds or less and can cut 100 to 200 trees in an hour if the terrain is level and the job uncomplicated. The smaller, three-wheeled cutters maneuver more easily through dense stands of trees; cutters with tracks can move through steeper slopes.

Key components: A cab for the driver; three or four wheels or rolling tracks; cutter, a spinning blade, a chain or shears; an arm with a grabbing device.